Ah Go On
Samuel Beckett was famous for his gloominess, but also on many occasions seemed able to express it in a way that makes us laugh. Is there a contradiction here, or not?
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Singing Schubert
There are times when interpreters should realise that explication is not needed. The composer and poet we exist to serve have told us what the message is to be. Our role is simply to deliver it.
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Uphill Battles
Sometimes in politics you lose, and then sometimes … you lose again. But there is no alternative other than to learn some lessons and come back for more.
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The Bully
They have outlawed bullying in schools in Maine, but unfortunately have not outlawed bullies running for the presidency.
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Aspects of Solidarity
It is relatively easy perhaps to create a sense of coherence and common purpose in a group which sees itself as culturally, socially or politically uniform. But how can we create feelings of solidarity with outsiders?
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Posh Spice
Speaking clearly and enunciating one’s vowels may not always gain one admission to a tennis club in which one is not welcome, but the experience of trying to learn how to do so can still be an enjoyable and memorable one.
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The Year Without Summer
The eruption of a volcano on an Indonesian island in April 1815 – the most explosive such event in history – had long-lasting and devastating effects across the globe. It is the subject of a conference in Galway this weekend.
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Kathmandu Letter
Public interest defender ‘LB Thapa’ can no longer practise the law. Subjected to death threats, he now lives anonymously with his family in poor conditions, but this is scarcely unusual, he says, for Nepalese lawyers who won’t lie.
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Under The Weather
So, it’s autumn. No need to be depressed. There are apples, blackberries, damsons and bright, golden woodlands to be enjoyed for a few months yet before winter draws in.
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A Personal Vendetta
Thomas Dickson, one of three men murdered in 1916 by the possibly deranged Captain John Bowen-Colthurst, has been accused of editing an anti-Semitic Irish newspaper. The paper, ‘The Eye-Opener’, may have been scurrilous, but it is doubtful if it was anti-Semitic.